OFFSHORE DRILLING AND PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT S.

Tanaka Professor
Emeritus, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Y. Okada General
Manager, Japan Oil Engineering Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Y. Ichikawa
General Manager, Japan Drilling Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Keywords:
Offshore, rotary drilling, offshore drilling rig, jack-up, semisubmersible,
drillship, offshore oil and gas production, platform, FPSO, subsea
.production systems

Contents

Introduction .1

Outline of Rotary Drilling Method .2

Offshore Drilling Structures and Equipments .3

Offshore Oil/Gas Production Systems Glossary Bibliography .4

Biographical Sketches To cite this chapter

Summary

World consumption of primary energy in 1999 was estimated at 8533.6

million tons oil equivalent. Oil and natural gas accounted for about 65 ％
of the world energy supply. Offshore areas produced 20-30 % of the oil
and gas supply. Oil and natural gas are brought to the surface from
underground reservoirs through wells that have been drilled and
completed to produce these fluids safely and economically.
Fundamental technology of drilling, completion and production of oil
and gas is common to onshore and offshore areas. But environmental
conditions of a field affect facilities and engineering works of the field.
This chapter covers the basics of rotary drilling technology, recent
progress of drilling engineering, characteristics of various offshore
drilling rigs, and types of offshore production systems. The offshore
production system adopted to develop a field extends its influence on
.the drilling and completion method of the field

Introduction .1
The chapter describes mainly the present situation of offshore drilling
and production of oil and natural gas. The first section is devoted for an
outline of the rotary drilling method, as oil and gas wells onshore and
offshore are drilled by the method. A hole made by a drilling bit is called
a well. The objective of making the well is to produce underground fluids
such as fresh water, brine, crude oil, natural gas and geothermal fluids,
and to study properties of deeply situated formations. The Middle East
area and China are said to have had wells producing water or natural gas
even in the era before Christ. By the year 1200, wells 450 m deep were
drilled in China by a spring-pole drilling method. The principle of the
method is to generate percussion by dropping heavy tools on the
bottom of the hole. The spring-pole drilling method was the predecessor
of a cable drilling method that had been used till after 1970s. Hand-
powered rotary devices were introduced to make geothermal wells in
Italy and water wells in France in early 1800s. Machine-powered rotary
devices and circulation systems were introduced by the late 1850’s. In
1901, the Lucas gusher at Spindletop oil field, the United States of
America, was successfully drilled and completed by the rotary drilling
method with circulation of fluid that consisted of water and clay. The
first cementing job to shut off water was carried out in 1903. The use of
bentonite as an ingredient of drilling fluid began in 1935 and has
contributed to improve mud properties. Three-cutter rock bits equipped
with jet nozzles were introduced to clean the bottom-hole of cuttings
around 1950. The technology of directional drilling has made great
progress to the level of extended reach drilling (ERD) and horizontal
wells through the development of down-hole mud motors and
measurement-while-drilling tools (MWD). Over-water drilling from a pier
extended from seashore was carried out in the late 1890’s. Drilling and
production of oil in the location where the land was out of sight was
accomplished offshore Louisiana, the United States of America, in 6 m of
water in 1947. The well was drilled from a tender-assisted platform
system. Four basic types of mobile offshore drilling rigs were developed
not long after drilling the first offshore well: the submersible rig in 1949,
the ship-shaped rig in 1953, the jack-up rig in 1954, and the
semisubmersible rig in 1962. Drill ships and semisubmersible rigs are
called floaters. These structures float during operations. Floaters are
equipped with unique facilities that are not used in onshore operations:
the marine riser, the motion compensation, and the stationkeeping
system. The dynamic positioning system (DPS) was introduced for deep-
sea operations in 1961. The scientific research well “SG-3” in Russia
reached the depth of 12 263 m in 1988, and has had the depth record
ever since. The deepest exploration drilling for hydrocarbons was carried
out to the depth of 9583 m in the United States of America in 1974. As
for offshore wells, a hydrocarbon exploration well was drilled offshore
Brazil in 2965 m of water in 2001. A production well was completed with
a subsea completion system offshore Brazil in 1852 m of water in 1998.
The offshore technology is steadily in progress toward deeper and
deeper seas to search and produce subsea resources for the future
.welfare of the world

Outline of Rotary Drilling Method The rotary drilling method is usually .2

applied to make deep wells. In the rotary drilling a bit breaks down rocks
at the bottom of the hole by scraping and crushing actions. The bit is
.rotated through a drill stem by a rotary table on a rig floor

1 ‫صوره‬

A diagrammatic view of the rotary drilling rig is shown in Figure

.The left side of the figure shows main surface equipment .1

The substructure indicated by 3 is constructed on the ground as the

foundation to support the derrick floor G on which the derrick 1, rotary
table H, and drawworks M are placed. The monkey board (or platform) 2
is a working floor to handle pipes. The heavy materials such as the drill
stem and casing are lowered into or lifted up from the hole by a hoisting
system composed of the drawworks M, drilling line 4, crown block A,
traveling block B, and the hook C. A circulation system of drilling fluid
consists of the suction pits P, pumps Q, surface piping, standpipe, rotary
hose (or kelly hose) F, and swivel D which is connected to the kelly E, and
directed lines show the flow path of the drilling fluid. In the figure main
power sources are the diesel engines N, and the power is transmitted to
the rotary table, drawworks and pumps by the main transmission system
The rotary table is driven by the drive J. Sometimes electric motors are
used to drive the relevant machines. A driller controls the machines
from the console by the drawworks and conducts the drilling operations.
In the right side of the Figure 1 showing the cross-section of the derrick
floor R and the hole, blowout preventers (BOPs) S and T are mounted on
.the top of the wellhead

connected to the surface casing V It is the primary function of the BOPs

to safely confine fluids suddenly entering into the hole out of formations
, and to bleed them off from the hole through the outlets U in a
controlled manner. The drill stem is composed of the kelly E, the drill
pipe X, and drill collars Y. The bit Z is attached at the lower end of the
drill collars. The components of the drill stem are made of steel pipes.
The drilling fluid is circulated down to the bit through the drill stem, and
up to the surface through the annular space between the drill stem and
the borehole or casing. The drilling fluid returned to the surface flows
into the return line L, and then to the shale shaker K to separate cuttings
and fluid. The fluid falls into the suction pit P to be circulated again The
.casing consists of lengths of steel pipe being joined to another

A number of strings of casing are set in the well. The purposes of casing
are to protect fresh-water sands, to prevent drilling problems such as
heaving formations and high-pressure zones, and finally to provide a
means of production of oil and gas if the well is productive. The annular
space between the casing and the borehole should be filled with cement
W to support the casing and prevent the flow of underground fluids up
.to the surface and/or into the fresh-water zones

Conductor casing is the largest-diameter casing used to protect the

.surface soils

.The next smaller-diameter casing is the surface casing V

.Its main function is to protect fresh-water zones

Intermediate strings of casing are set to case the long open section of
the hole or the zones causing trouble. The last string of casing is the
production casing that is set immediately above, or through, the
production formations The main functions of the rotary drilling rig are as
:follows

.Roller bits (or roller-cone bits)

.Steel tooth bits. Insert bits (or tungsten carbide insert bits)

.Fixed cutter drill bits )b( ƒ

PDC bits (PDC: polycrystalline diamond compacts)

TSP bits (TSP: thermally stable polycrystalline)

Natural diamond bits

.Three types of bits are shown in Figure 2

The IADC bit classification system provides conventional methods for
categorizing roller bits by three digits, and fixed cutter drill bits by four
characters. The choice of bits depends upon properties of the
formations, and drilling techniques (see Drilling Machines). The drilling
fluids, conventionally simply called as muds, have lots of important
functions in the rotary drilling. Main functions are as follows: ƒ Removal
of cuttings from the bottom of the hole to the surface. Cuttings are
separated from the mud at the shale shaker. These cuttings and samples
of the mud are analyzed to study geological properties of the rocks
penetrated, and to find out the indication of oil and gas in the
formations. ƒ Controlling hydraulic pressure in the hole by adjusting the
density of the mud to prevent collapse of the wall of the borehole, and
.to contain formation fluids in the formations

Cooling and lubricating the bit and the drill stem. The drilling fluids are ƒ
composed of base fluids, clay minerals, chemicals, and inert solids. Their
base fluids classify them as follows: water-base muds, oil-base muds, air
or gas drilling. Bentonite, a kind of clay, is preferred to make up water-
base muds. A small quantity of chemicals adds in the mud to control the
viscosity and filtration properties. Inert solids such as barite are mixed in
the mud to adjust the density. In the conventional system of the rotary
drilling, the rotary table rotates the drill stem, but the down-hole mud
motor and the top drive device are applied to rotate the bit in the
directional and horizontal well drilling, or to improve operations in the
vertical well drilling. The technical advancement of the measurement-
while-drilling tools (MWD) and the logging-while-drilling tools (LWD) has
contributed to the almost real-time acquisition of the down-hole
information. Owing to these tools it has become easy to drill directional
and horizontal wells. Directional wells with long horizontal departure are
called extended-reach-drilling (ERD) wells. The definition of an extended
reach well is a well with a measured depth to true vertical depth ratio
greater than 2.0. An ERD well in the united Kingdom drilled in 1999 to
access offshore reserves from onshore had a record of a departure of 10
728 m with a measured depth of 11 287 m and approximately 1600 m
true vertical depth. A definition of a horizontal well is a well with a hole
section exceeding an inclination of 85 degrees. The adoption of the
directional wells, extended-reach wells, horizontal wells, and the
multilateral wells has a share in the economical development of oil and
gas fields. Figure3 is an example of horizontal wells in the North Sea.
.Figure 4 shows various types of multilateral wells

‫الصورة الثالثة‬

Complex Design Wells: Challenges, Achievements and Cost-benefits,

Vol.2, Exploration, Production, and Reserves, Proc. of the 14th World
Petroleum Congress, John Wiley & Sons. Reproduced Courtesy of World
)Petroleum Congress

4‫مجموعه الصور رقم‬

There are two basic types of down-hole mud motors; one is a turbine type
(turbodrill), and the other is a positive displacement type (PDM). Figure 5 is an
illustration of a multi-lobe (5/6) rotor/stator configuration type of the positive
displacement motor. The motor is designed primarily for the directional
performance drilling motor, but can also be used for straight-hole drilling. The top
drive drilling system is suspended from the swivel, moves up and down together
with it, and rotates directly the drill stem by electric or hydraulic motors. In the
MWD and LWD systems, sensors are set within the drill collars just above the bit. In
the MWD, the hole direction and inclination are measured, and the downhole weight
and torque on the bit are included in a modified type of the tool. In the LWD, the
formation resistivity and natural gamma ray are measured. The term MWD is often
used as a synonym for the term LWD. Data measured at the downhole are
transmitted to the surface in a real-time mode by coded mud pulses sending up
inside of the drill stem or the annular space. Some sophisticated data transmission
systems consist of electromagnetic wave propagation through the earth, or sonic
.wave propagation through the drill stem

‫الصورة الخامسة‬

Figure 6 is an illustration of a positive mud pulse system of the MWD

system. In the right side of Figure 6, a MWD tool A is enlarged. In the left
side of the Figure 6, positive mud pulses B move up through the drill
stem to a pressure detector C at the surface. In the MWD tool measured
data are converted into binary signals by an electronics package. The
binary data control movement of a valve actuator to produce positive
.pulses of the mud in the drill stem

‫الصورة السادسة‬

Offshore Drilling Structures .3

Technical Features of Offshore Drilling Offshore drilling needs a .3.1

floating or bottom-supported rig. Offshore drilling rigs have drilling
equipment to conduct all the functions similar to the land drilling rigs
and have facilities peculiar to offshore operations. Because of the
location remote from infrastructure, offshore rigs also carry on board a
number of service systems such as cementing, geophysical logging, and
so on. In addition, there are lots of specific services on board such as
ROV, divers, meteorological measurements, helicopter, etc.
Accommodations and catering for crews working for 24 hours are
required on the rig. All these factors make offshore rigs complex and
sophisticated, and therefore offshore drilling costs are higher than land
drilling costs for similar depth wells. There are two main categories of
drilling rig structures used offshore: ƒ Mobile bottom- supported and
floating rigs ƒ Stationary production structures used exclusively for
development wells The first category of mobile structures includes the
:following rigs

Jack-up rigs ƒ

Submersible rigs (swamp barges) ƒ

Anchor-stationed or dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs ƒ

Anchor-stationed or dynamically positioned drillships ƒ

Drilling structures used for developing offshore fields from stationary

:platforms are of two types

Self-contained platforms ƒ

Tender or jack-up assisted platforms or well-protector jackets ƒ

The large production platform equips a complete set of drilling

equipment, and is called as self-contained platform, which is described
later in the Section 4 of the chapter. The small platform has a space only
to accommodate derrick and drawworks, so a kind of tender assists the
.work, which is described later in the section

There is a guideline to choose roughly the type of offshore drilling rigs

:according to water depth and conditions of sea state and winds

Water depth less than 25 m: submersible rigs (swamp barges) -

Water depth less than 50 m and calm sea: tender or jack-up assisted -
platforms

Water depth less than 400 m and mild sea: self-contained platforms -

Water depth from 15 m to 150 m: jack-up rigs -

Water depth from 20 m to 2000 m: anchored drillships or -

semisubmersible rigs
Water depth from 500 m to 3000 m: drillships or semisubmersible rigs -
with dynamic positioning system

Isolated area with icebergs: drillships with dynamic positioning system -

- Severe sea conditions: semisubmersible rigs or new generation
drillships

Mobile Bottom-supported Rigs .3.2

Jack-up Drilling Rigs (Jack-up Rigs, Self-elevating Drilling Rigs) .3.2.1

Jack-up drilling rigs are used in water depth that typically ranges from 15
to 100 m with a maximum depth of 150 m. A hull of the jack-up drilling
rig is typically constructed in a triangular shape with 3 legs, and in a few
cases in rectangular or other shapes. A jack-up rig is moderately stable
when floating on its hull with its legs up. A jack-up rig is moved by being
towed by a tugboat or is transported by a heavy lift carrier from one
drilling location to another, and then jacked above the sea surface on
tubular or derrick legs. During towing, the legs are raised so that just a
few feet protrude below the hull. When moving a jack-up rig, it is
necessary to ensure that weather conditions (sea states and winds) do
not exceed the allowable operating parameters established for each
.jack-up rig design

‫الصورة السابعة‬
:There are two basic leg configurations of jack-up rigs

Independent-leg type for relatively firm seabed: Each independent leg

has a spud can on the end The leg penetrates soil below the mud line,
i.e. the sea bottom. The penetration depends on the composition of the
.soil and the shape of spud can

Mat-supported type for soft seabed: Legs is connected with a mat. The
mat rests on the seabed to stably support the rig. The type is used on
.flat sea-bottom in water depth of up to 50 m. The penetration is slight

Legs of the independent-leg type of jack-up rigs are either vertical or

tilted slightly outward to provide stability when the hull is raised out of
the water. Each leg typically consists of three to six vertical members
called chords. The vertical members (chords) are attached by cross
members (k-braces) and form interconnected truss members. Each of
the chords has a gear rack that runs the full length of the leg. The legs
are raised and lowered with electric motors mounted to the main deck
of the hull, which drive a number of pinion gears attached to each of the
leg chord gear racks. Once the rig arrives at the drilling location, the legs
are lowered to the sea floor and the hull is raised (jacked) out of the
water. The hull is jacked up (elevated) at a speed that ranges from 0.3 to
.1 m/min

Prior to raising the hull to the safe working height above the ocean
waves, it is required to preload the legs that penetrate the ocean
sediments. It is necessary for the sediments that the legs are pushing
against to support the weight of the jack-up hull and also the additional
drilling equipment placed on the rig during drilling operations and
certain drilling loads. If the sediments are not dense enough to support
these loads, one or more of the jack-up legs may suddenly/rapidly push
(punch) through the sea floor sediments. A leg punch through can
severely damage the legs and hull, thus jeopardizing the safety of the
.rig
Once the preloading operation is complete, the hull can be raised to the
desired height above the ocean waves. The height of the hull above the
sea surface is called the air gap. The air gap depends on the expected
height of the waves and also the height of the production platform if
drilling a well on a production platform. Depending on the design of the
rig, there is a slot either in the hull to allow the wellhead to be
positioned under the rig floor, or the rig floor and support structure
(substructure) can be extended/slid-out (cantilevered) from the side of
the hull to the desired drilling position. Once the rig is placed in
operating position, drilling process is carried out in a way similar to land
.operations after the outer casing and surface BOP is installed

Submersible Drilling Rigs (Submersible Rigs, Swamp Barge) .3.2.2

‫الصورة الثامنة‬
Submersible drilling rigs consist of upper and lower hulls connected by a
network of posts or beams. The drilling equipment and living quarters
are installed on the upper hull deck. The lower hull has the buoyancy
capacity to float and support the upper hull and equipment. When water
is pumped into the lower hull, the rig submerges and rests on the
seabed to provide a working place for the drilling. Movement and
drilling operations proceed as that of the jack-up rig. Most submerged
rigs are used only shallow waters of 8 to 10 meters. Ship-shaped
submersible rigs are also used, which are called swamp barges. Swamp
barges have operated in swamp and marsh areas in Nigeria, Indonesia,
and the southern part of United States of America. An arctic mobile
drilling unit having conical, sloping-side structure belongs to the
.submersible type

Tender-Assisted Platforms and Tenders .3.2.3

In regions where the weather conditions are not harsh, it is possible to

use lower cost fixed platforms that are designed to support only the
derrick and the drawworks. The tender anchored alongside the platform
contains drilling equipment such as pumps and tubular goods, and
accommodation for personnel. A catwalk connects the platform and the
.tender

‫الصورة التاسعة‬
If weather conditions (wind, swell, and current) become too harsh, the
drilling operations must be shut down due to excessive motion of the
tender. The tender platforms are used in Gulf of Guinea and the Persian
Gulf waters where good weather conditions prevail, resulting in low
.downtime less than 2% of total operation time

Floating Offshore Drilling Rigs (Floaters) .3.3

Technologies Required by Floaters .3.3.1

In water depths greater than 100 m, floaters are commonly used.

Drillships and semisubmersible rigs are classified as floaters. Drilling
operations with floaters require peculiar technologies that are not used
in the operations of mobile bottom-supported drilling rigs. They are
stationkeeping system, marine riser system, and drillstring motion
compensator. These systems are shown in Figure 10 in a case of
.semisubmersible rig with an anchor-mooring system

‫الصورة العاشرة‬
Wind and current forces push a floater away from the location directly
above the subsea wellhead. Waves raise and fall the floater. The
technology has developed to overcome these effects caused by weather
.conditions

An adequate stationkeeping system is necessary to keep a floater within

acceptable limits above the subsea wellhead. One of the methods is an
anchor mooring system consisting of mooring lines (chains, wire ropes or
a combination of chains and wire ropes) and anchors that is shown in
Figure 10. It is important to arrange the mooring-system according to
.environmental conditions prevailing at the location

The other is DPS, which is the acronym of dynamic positioning system.

The vessel has several thrusters under the bottom of it. Computers
onboard manipulate the thrusters automatically. Acoustic positioning
beacons are located around the subsea wellhead, and send the signals to
the vessel. And/or the vessel receives position signals from satellites.
The computers analyze the signals, and command movement of the
.thrusters to keep the vessel's position within acceptable limits

The marine riser system consists of riser pipe, riser tensioners, and
ancillaries. The riser pipe is connected to the top of subsea BOP, and is
pulled up by the riser tensioner system onboard to keep vertical
configuration. The riser pipe serves as a conduit for returning mud to the
surface from the hole, and as a guide for running drill stem and casing
from the floater to the hole under the seafloor

‫الصورة الحادية عشر طفحححححت يامناااال‬

The motion compensator is a device to maintain constant weight on the
bit during drilling operation in spite of oscillation of the floater due to
wave motion. One of the devices is a bumper sub. The bumper sub is
used as a component of a drill string, and is placed near the top of the
drill collars. A mandrel composing an upper portion of the bumper sub
slides in and out of a body of the bumper sub like a telescope in
response to the heave of the rig, and this telescopic action of the
bumper sub keeps the bit stable on the bottom-hole. The bumper sub is
able to transmit the torque from the drill stem to the drill collars to
rotate the bit. Other device is a heave compensator. The heave
compensator is placed in the derrick. There are two types of the heave
compensator. One is a crown mounted heave compensator shown in
Figure 11, and the other is an in-line compensator that is hung below the
traveling block in the derrick shown in Figure 10. Both systems use either
hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders that act as springs supporting the drill
stem load, and allow the top of the drill stem to remain stationary, as
.the rig heaves up and down

Drillships .3.3.2

The first drillship was introduced in offshore services in 1953, and the
dynamic positioning system was equipped in drillships in 1961. Drillships
.are shown in Figure 12

‫الصورة الثانية عشر يامسهلل‬

Drillships contain all of the equipment and material needed to drill and
complete the well. An opening called a moon pool is equipped in the
center of the ship from the main deck to the water. Drilling assembly,
riser pipe, wellhead equipment, and so forth are lowered through the
.moon pool to the sea floor

New generation drillships built in 1990s have the capacity to drill wells in
the waters up to 3000 meters. These ships have production test facilities
and oil storage tanks in addition to the usual drilling equipment. To
improve the efficiency of deepwater operations with the aim of
economic advantages, the PROPRIETARY dual-activity drilling system OF
TRANSOCEAN INC. is shown in the larger drillship in Figure 12. The dual-
activity rigs have two sets of drilling equipment such as mud pumps,
drawworks, top drives, and mud treatment system. When a hole is
drilled by the first drilling system, the second drilling system is used for
making up casing and tubing strings in advance, and so on. Although the
dual-activity system in the deepwater drillship is in the early stage of
deployment, it is readily recognized that the system can save significant
.time and cost of drilling operations

‫الصورة الثالثه عشر‬

Semisubmersible Drilling Rig .3.3.3

Semisubmersible drilling rigs, which are simply called as

semisubmersibles, jointed in the drilling fleet in 1962. Semisubmersibles
have submerged pontoons (lower hulls) that are interconnected to the
.drilling deck by vertical columns as shown in Figure 10 and Figure 13

The lower hulls provide improved stability for the vessel. Also, the open
area between the

vertical columns of semisubmersibles provides a reduced area on which

the environment can act. In drilling operations, the lower hulls are
submerged in the water about half-length of the column, but do not rest
on the seabed. When a semisubmersible moves to a new location, the
lower hulls float on the sea surface. Semisubmersible rigs are towed by
boats, and some rigs have self-propelled capacity. On drilling site to keep
the position, the anchors usually moor semisubmersibles, but the
dynamic positioning systems are used by new generation
semisubmersibles. Drilling equipments, mud systems, living quarters and
so forth are placed on the deck, and ballast tanks, thrusters, sea water
pumps are equipped in the lower hulls. Semisubmersibles have
minimum structures exposed to wave actions. So semisubmersibles
provide more stable station for the drilling operations, and are able to
operate in harsher environmental conditions as compared with
drillships. The main disadvantage of semisubmersibles is that variable
deck loading capacity required for storing drilling materials is limited by
the structure. In the late 1970s, semisubmersibles had the capability to
operate in 500 m water depth using an anchor system. In the late 1990s,
the drilling operation capability of semisubmersibles increased to over
1800 meters water depth. Hoisting capacity and variable deck loading
capacity are factors restricting the water depth capability of
.semisubmersibles

Location Surveys for Offshore Drilling .3.4

The offshore environment has a much more significant influence on

drilling operations than the onshore environment. It is necessary to carry
out a suite of location surveys before starting drilling operations in order
to obtain data such as weather forecast during drilling operations,
bathymetric map around the location, current profiles, properties of the
sea bottom soil, topography of the sea bottom, and shallow geological
hazards. The surveys will cover at least area a kilometer square centered
on the proposed location. The survey companies analyze and evaluate
the data to present reports that are used to prepare the mooring plan
and the casing design for a top hole, and so forth. The minimum
requirement of the survey includes following instruments: sparkers, sub-
bottom profilers, side-scan sonars, fathometers, and gravity corers.
Wind and current measurements for several months would be carried
out at a proposed location about one year ago before operations. In
critical areas, surveys in consideration of the culture, the archaeological
.and biological background are required

Offshore Oil/Gas Production Systems .4

Brief History of Offshore Production Systems .4.1

History of offshore petroleum production dates back to the end of the

19th century, when oil wells were drilled from piers constructed along
the Californian coast of the United States of America. Geologically
continental shelf is considered to be the extension of continental land
and it was quite natural to pursue the extension of onshore oil
accumulation down to sea bottom. These Californian wells were the first
.attempt of this hunt

If hunt for petroleum, i.e. oil and natural gas, was extended from
onshore to offshore, so was the use of equipment employed for its
production. Petroleum production and field processing equipment
typically includes wells to safely bring oil and gas from underground
formation to surface, separation equipment to separate gas, oil and
associated water, some means of transporting the products to market
such as pressure booster (pump/compressor) and pipelines. In the
majority of offshore fields these pieces of equipment used are
essentially the same as those used in onshore fields. In order to bring
the equipment to offshore environment, some sort of supporting
structure is needed to keep them above water, namely, offshore
platforms. The above Californian piers were in this sense the first
offshore platforms for petroleum production. Bottom-supported
platforms have been in use ever since, though material to build them
changed from wood to steel and concrete. These platforms, whilst good
in that they can provide working environment probably closest to that
onshore, have problems of sharply increasing cost with increasing water
depth and long lead time for construction. To counter these problems,
the petroleum industry came up with floating platforms in the 1970s.
These include semisubmersibles, a natural functional extension of their
sisters in the MODU fleet, ship-shaped floating production storage and
offloading systems (FPSOs) and tension leg platforms (TLPs). More
variations were added in later years. If these platforms are one way of
coping with the offshore environment, enabling equipment intended for
onshore application to be used there more or less as it is, the other way
is to make the equipment capable of functioning in underwater
environment and put it on the seabed, that is, a subsea production
system. The first production equipment that was put completely
underwater was a well, a gas well completed on the bottom of Lake Erie
in United States of America in 1943. Although this well used completion
equipment for onshore use without modification, one designed
specifically for subsea application was subsequently developed. To date
there have been more than 1000 wells worldwide drilled and completed
subsea. The advancement of subsea technology meanwhile has led to
development of other kinds of equipment tailored for subsea
application, namely, manifolds to collect/divert produced and service
fluids to desired flow paths, multi-phase pumps that can boost the
pressure of the mixture of gas and liquid and gas/liquid separators, all
with associated controls equipment. Today these platforms and subsea
systems are applied in various combinations, each aimed at best suiting
the particular environment in which they operate. These are offering the
petroleum industry many options to choose from for production
systems. However, research and development still continue to tap oil
.and gas in still deeper water and still harsher environment

Various Types of Offshore Platforms .4.2

Bottom-supported Platforms .4.2.1

The most widely used platforms are so-called template platforms. This
type of platform, Figure14, usually consists of jacket, piles and deck. The
jacket is fixed to sea bottom by means of piles and they together support
the deck load. The deck is the topside structure of the platform and
houses most of the equipment. The jacket is fabricated from steel
tubulars at a yard, transported on and launched at the site from a barge,
upended, lowered to the sea bottom and piled. The deck is usually
divided into several modules, which are individually fabricated at a yard
or shipyard, transported on a barge to the site where the jacket is
.already installed, lifted and fixed onto the jacket

‫الصوره الرابعه عشر وربنا مفتحت شيت البايو وافتكرت القرف ده‬
Yard space and launch barge size available at the time of the project
limit the jacket size. Cognac platform jacket installed in 312 m of water
in the Gulf of Mexico in 1977 to 1978 was fabricated in three pieces and
they were sequentially lowered to and connected together on the
seabed, because there was no barge large enough to transport it in one
piece at that time. Size of the individual deck module is greatly
influenced by the lifting capacity of the crane vessel available.
Attractiveness of less number of heavier lifts in terms of cost and other
aspects has encouraged construction of heavy lifting vessels and those
with twin cranes with several thousand ton lifting capacity are available.
Function of this type of platform can vary from simple well protection to
combined drilling and production with all the necessary equipment to
drill wells and process and transport the produced fluid. Storage
function is not normally provided. This type has found application in
water as deep as 411 m in the Gulf of Mexico. As the water depth
increases, maintaining stiffness to rigidly resist the overturning moment
as the template platforms do becomes prohibitively expensive. The
alternative is structures that have much longer sway period than that of
high-energy storm waves, avoiding resonance of structures with these
waves. This type of platforms is called compliant towers and has been
applied in water depths in excess of 500 m. Another type of bottom-
supported structure is the gravity platforms, Figure15. They derive
required stability from their own weight. The substructure is usually built
from concrete in deep, protected water near shore such as fjord and
firth. Deck is usually built in one piece, brought on a barge or barges
over to and then mated with almost completely submerged
substructure. The completely assembled platform is then towed to the
installation site and ballasted down to seafloor. Because of this unique
way of construction, geographical locations to which this type is
applicable are limited. Only a few applications can be found in the world
except in the North Sea, where Norwegian fjords and Scottish firths
provide ideal construction sites. This type is inevitably massive and
suitable for self-contained drilling and production role. Storage
capability can be easily incorporated, making this type suitable for
situations where pipeline transportation is not readily available

‫الصوره الخامسة عشر‬

Floating Platforms .4.2.2

Though the bottom-founded platforms provide stable working

environment, they typically have the drawbacks of long lead time and
cost tendency quite sensitive to water depth. A solution to these
problems has been the floating platforms moored to the seafloor. An
additional advantage is seen in ease of relocating and reusing them after
a field is depleted. This type was pioneered by a semisubmersible
platform converted from an MODU in the mid 1970s. Quite a number of
conversions were made particularly in the early days of this type of
platforms so that fields could be brought into production quickly,
improving project economics. Units intended for deep-water
applications are mostly purpose-built so that they can satisfy the
demanding conditions of such applications. Mooring is usually by eight
to twelve point catenaries. Motion of the platform does not allow wells
to be completed on the deck. So they are usually completed subsea and
produced fluid is brought to the processing equipment aboard the
platform by means of pipeline and riser, Figure 16. Riser is one of the
technical focal points and flexible pipes are widely used for this
application. Disadvantages of this type can be summarized as limited
.payload capacity and lack of storage capability

‫الصوره السادسة عشر‬

floating production storage and offloading system (FPSO). They are ship-
shaped platform either with or without propulsion capability, Figure 17.
First application was made in the late 1970s and it was a converted
ocean-going tanker. Converted or purpose-built, FPSOs have a large
payload and storage capacity making them suitable for application in
isolated locations where pipeline transportation cannot be an option.
Single point mooring is the most widely used station-keeping means,
where the platform is allowed to weathervane around the mooring
mechanism. Multi-point moorings have been applied in relatively benign
environment such as West Africa and the Gulf of Suez. Like
semisubmersibles wells are completed at separate locations, either
.subsea or on separate platforms

‫الصورة السابعة عشر‬

One of the floating platforms specifically developed for deep-water

application is the tension leg platform (TLP), Figure 18. Except for the
very first application that appeared in the mid 1980s, platforms of this
type are in water depths in excess of 500 m and the deepest application
is in more than 1200 m of water. TLP is essentially a semisubmersible
attached to the seabed by vertical members called tendons, which are
usually made of steel tubulars and tensioned by excess buoyancy of the
platform hull. Tendons are pinned to the seabed directly or indirectly by
piles. Motion characteristics of the TLP allows wells to be completed on
its deck, a big advantage because wells are one of the most important
and expensive components of a petroleum production system and ease
of access to them is a matter of prime concern in field development
.planning

‫الصورة الثامنة عشر‬

The most recent species of floating platform is the spar platform, or

deep-draft caisson vessel (DDCV). As its name indicates, it has a deeply
submerged, spar-shaped hull and a deck structure. The platform is
moored to the seabed by means of catenary or taut mooring. This type
of structure was first applied as a storage and loading buoy in the North
Sea in the mid 1970s. Application for the drilling and production role
came into reality in the latter half of the 1990s in the Gulf of Mexico, and
three spar production systems are operated there as of 2000. A platform
of this type has been built in 1463 m of water. Like TLP it is possible to
put Christmas trees of wells on the platform deck, and like FPSO, oil
storage capability can be incorporated in the hull, making this type
.attractive at isolated deep water locations

Subsea Production Systems .4.3

Subsea-completed wells were initially envisaged by many as an

unavoidable evil for deep-water production. As their reliability improved
and confidence was gained on them, they have found increasing use
even in the water depth range of bottom-supported platforms.
Reservoirs discovered close to existing infrastructures or parts of
producing

reservoirs too far away to reach from existing platforms are typically
developed utilizing subsea wells tied back to the host platforms,
providing economical means of field development. Also exploratory
wells, typically plugged and abandoned after a short period of test not
so long ago, are completed subsea and put into production for some
months using drilling vessels equipped with temporary production
facilities or purpose-built well test vessels, providing valuable reservoir
.data for subsequent field development planning

Subsea Christmas .4.3.1

Trees Subsea trees are, like land trees, primary means of flow control
for subsea wells and consist of series of valves and sometimes a flow
control device (choke) along the flow path of produced fluid with
associated controls equipment, Figure 19. Although trees in early days of
subsea development relied heavily on diver assistance in installation and
operation, the trend is toward less reliance and remotely operated
connectors, valves and chokes by means of hydraulics are used
extensively. They are installed by drilling rigs using guidelines established
between a pre-installed guide base structure and a rig for positioning
and orientating. For deep waters where use of guidelines is not practical,
.guidelineless system is available

‫الصورة التاسعة عشر‬

Where it is desirable to drill a number of wells from one location, a well
template is sometimes used, Figure 20. A template is a steel structure
that provides structural support and appropriate spacing to wells. As the
drilling rig can move from one well position to another only by adjusting
.anchor lines, use of template can bring savings in drilling cost

‫الصورة العشرين‬
Subsea Manifolds A manifold consists of appropriately arranged .4.3.2
valves and pipings with associated controls equipment and a structure to
support these components. It allows produced fluid to be commingled
or diverted and injection fluids to be distributed to desired flow paths.
With asubsea manifold, number of flowlines and injection lines between
wells and host platform can be reduced substantially, saving large
amount of investment. Disadvantage is added complexity in not-easily-
accessible subsea environment with implications on maintenance cost. A
manifold can be a stand-alone component or built into a well template,
.Figure 21

21 ‫الصوره ال‬

Subsea Boosting and Processing .4.3.3

Wells, templates and manifolds have been successfully applied subsea.
The next candidates for subsea application are multi-phase pressure
boosters and fluid separators. The idea behind the multi-phase pressure
booster, or multi-phase pump, is that if pressure boosting can be done
at the subsea wells, a platform long distance away can be their host,
widening the possible range of step-out development. More ambitiously,
produced fluid could be sent directly onshore, eliminating the need for
host platform altogether. Difficulties in boosting pressure of multi-phase
fluid with widely fluctuating void fraction have prompted some to take a
different approach, that is, to separate produced fluid into different
phases and then boost the pressure. Another application of the subsea

separation technology being considered is to separate produced water

at the wells and re-inject it underground for disposal, saving energy to
transport unnecessary water to surface. The subsea boosting concept
has been considered since the early 1980s and the subsea separation
concept a little later. Both technologies have come to the stage of field-
testing prototype equipment, but are yet to be applied on commercial
.basis

Subsea Control System .4.3.4

In order to ensure safe and efficient operation of the subsea production

systems, their various components such as valves, chokes and
connectors must be properly controlled. Also it is often desirable to have
feedback from these components and other instrumentation indicating
various process parameters such as downhole/wellhead pressures and
temperatures and fluid flow rate and diagnostic parameters of the
control system itself. Control systems currently employed utilize
hydraulics and often electronics to differing degrees. Of these most
commonly used is the electro-hydraulic multiplexed system. The system
requires hydraulic power supplied from the host platform to actuate
control devices. Coded signals for operating these field devices and data
signals from field instruments to the host platform are transmitted
through an electrical cable. Electric power is usually supplied through a
separate cable, but superposition of data signals on the power cable has
been successfully tried. Research is underway for developing an all-
electric control system, which will eliminate the need for hydraulic link
between the subsea system and host platform altogether, leading to
.further cost reduction

Prospect of Offshore Production System .4.4

The technology for offshore development has been commercial

technology all along. Every time oil was found in such an environment
where the offshore petroleum industry had had no previous experience,
new technology was developed to cope with it and commercially
produce oil there. In pursuing this goal, the balance between safety,
reliability, economics and, increasingly, environmental considerations
has never been forgotten. The North Sea developments of the 1970s and
the deep-water developments in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil of the
1990s were probably the two epoch-making eras in the history of this
industry. The North Sea-type platforms with huge payload capacity to
accommodate all required functions on a single structure, sometimes
with built-in or separate storage capacity, made it possible to develop
fields in remote, isolated areas. Implications of the advancement of
deep-water technology are obvious. The twenty first century will see this
process continuing, at probably a slow but steady pace. The North Sea
activities have already spread to the Atlantic Frontier (west of Shetland)
to the west and the Norwegian Sea to the north. The water depth record
of both subsea completion and platform installation has exceeded 1800
m and developments in more than 2000 m water depths are being
planned. Also somewhat specialty technology

is enabling oil production in such ice-infected areas as offshore

Newfoundland and offshore Sakhalin Island. A major challenge may
come, however, when the industry moves to tap methane hydrate
deposits under the ocean floor, generally in waters more than 500 m
deep. Methane hydrate is a solid compound of water and methane
where methane molecules are taken in to the cage-like structure formed
by water molecules. Production of methane from hydrate is considered
to involve its dissociation. Although the biggest problem is seen in
maintaining the dissociation rate high enough to sustain commercially
viable rate of gas production, problems are also foreseen, for example,
in maintaining integrity of wells and preventing or coping with potential
sea floor instability such as subsidence. The attempts to meet the
challenge have already begun. When it is successfully met, humans will
.have obtained another important source of precious energy

Glossary

Casing: Steel pipe lowered into a hole drilled and bonded to formation
.by cement to keep the well safe

Christmas tree: An assemblage of valves installed at the top of a well to

.control the flow of oil and gas after the well has been completion

Drill stem: A drilling assemblage of tubular goods, to rotate a bit at the

bottom of the hole from the surface, which comprises of the kelly, the
.drill pipe, and drill collars

Riser: Any pipe with the fluid flow upward in it. In offshore drilling a
marine riser system is used to establish a connection between the rig
and the seabed. In offshore petroleum production, production riser
systems extend from the seabed to the deck of the production platform.
Well completion: A series of work to make a well ready for production
after it has been drilled and tested. Although there are wide variations, it
typically involves installing the production (deepest) casing, perforating
the casing and installing tubing (flow path for produced fluid) and the
Christmas tree. A subsea completion or subsea-completed well is a well
.that sits entirely, that is, up to its Christmas tree, on the seabed

API: American Petroleum Institute

BOP: Blowout Preventer

DDCV: Deep-Draft Caisson Vessel

DPS: Dynamic Positioning System

ERD: Extended Reach Drilling

FPSO: Floating Production Storage and Offloading system

IADC: International Association of Drilling Contractors

LWD: Logging-While-Drilling tools

MODU: Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit

MWD: Measurement-While-Drilling tools

PDC: Polycrystalline Diamond Compacts

PDM: Positive Displacement Motor

ROV: Remotely Operated Vehicle

TLP: Tension Leg Platform

TSP: Thermally Stable Polycrystalline

Bibliography

Bourgoyne Jr. A.T., Millheim K.K., Chenevert M.E. and Young Jr. F.S.
(1991). Applied Drilling Engineering. Richardson, TX 75083-3836, USA:
Society of Petroleum Engineers. [This is a good textbook on rotary
drilling engineering.] Gerwick, Jr. B.C. (1986). Construction of Offshore
Structures. Baffins Lane, Chichester, Sussex PO19 1UD, UK: John Wiley &
Sons. [This book gives details of how offshore structures, particularly the
bottom-supported platforms, are constructed.] Silcox W.H., Bodine J.A.,
Burns G.E., Reeds C.B., Wilson D.L. and Sauve E.R. (1989). Chapter 18
Offshore Operations. Petroleum Engineering Handbook (editor-in-chief
H.B. Bladley), pp. 18-1 – 18-52. Richardson, TX 75083-3836, USA: Society
of Petroleum Engineers. [This work provides a good overview of offshore
drilling and production systems and operations.] API Standards and
Publications. 1220 L Street, Northwest Washington, D.C. 20005-4070,
USA. American Petroleum Institute. [The series contain detail standards
and information on rotary drilling method of onland and offshore
operations.] OTC Proceedings. Richardson, TX 75083-3836, USA. Society
of Petroleum Engineers. [The proceedings published yearly provide up-
to-date information on offshore engineering and operations.]
Proceedings of SPE/IADC Drilling Conference. Richardson, TX 75083-
3836, USA. Society of Petroleum Engineers. [The proceedings published
yearly provide up-to-date information on drilling engineering.]
Biographical Sketches
Shoichi Tanaka is professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo in
Tokyo, Japan. He majors in drilling engineering and petroleum
engineering. He holds a Doctor of Engineering in mining engineering
from the University of Tokyo. He was with the University of Tokyo from
.1960 to 1995

Yo Okada is general manager of Petroleum Engineering & Consulting

Dept. with Japan Oil Engineering Co. (JOE) in Tokyo and heads a pool of
engineers and scientists, providing a range of technical services to
various clients in the petroleum industry, financial institutions and
investors. He joined JOE in 1975 and has worked in numerous projects in
varying capacities since then. Typical projects include offshore field
construction and maintenance, field development project coordination
and management, field facility technical assessment, field development
feasibility studies including economic evaluation, technology surveys and
technical seminars. He holds a BSc in mining engineering from the
University of Tokyo and an MA in economics from Vanderbilt University,
.Nashville, Tennessee

Yuichiro Ichikawa is currently working concurrently as general manager

of Methane Hydrate Development Division of Tokyo head office of Japan
Drilling Co. (JDC). He is responsible for drilling operations, drilling
engineering and offshore engineering services to the drilling industry
and governmental bodies. He joined JDC in 1977 and has worked in
numerous projects in varying capacities since then. Areas of engineering
expertise - Deepwater Drilling Rig Design, Deepwater Location Surveys,
Deepwater Well Planning, Deepwater Subsea Well Control, Coring
Technology, Downhole Tools Development, Hydrate Drilling, Safety
Management, Information Management, Logistics Support and
Deepwater Offshore Drilling. He holds a BSc in petroleum engineering
.from the University of Tokyo

To cite this chapter

S. Tanaka, Y. Okada, Y. Ichikawa, (2005), OFFSHORE DRILLING AND

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT, in Civil Engineering, [Eds. Kiyoshi Horikawa,
and Qizhong Guo], in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS),
Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO, Eolss Publishers,
,Oxford ,UK